


Whirlwind Trip

by Blizzard96



Series: The Hallyu Region [1]
Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band), ASTRO (Band), ATEEZ (Band), Dreamcatcher (Korea Band), NCT (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Gen, I'm not going to tag all of the characters because there's so many, Just read the groups to know who's in it, Pokemon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-13 01:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19590283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard96/pseuds/Blizzard96
Summary: Yuchan takes a day trip around the region. It goes about as well as can be expected.





	Whirlwind Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElliotsArchives](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElliotsArchives/gifts).



> This is a Pokemon AU created by myself and a friend that includes groups that we are both fans of. Some groups are mentioned briefly.

**Starting Point: Pokémon League**

Yuchan looked up from his work of painting the wall when he head the familiar chime of his phone. He peered down to see the device vibrating where he had left it, twenty feet below him. There was no way he was going to be able to get down from the ladder in time to answer it, and he had resigned himself to letting it go to voicemail, when his partner Oki floated into the room. He perked up on the ladder, barely managing to keep his balance, as he spotted the bright orange Alolan Raichu.

“Oki!” he called, getting the electric mouse’s attention.

“Rai!” Oki waved back, beaming.

“Can you get my phone?” The Pokémon nodded and floated over to pick up the phone before levitating up to where Yuchan was. “Thanks!”

“Rai!”

Yuchan swiped to answer. “Hello?”

“Hello, Yuchan,” a familiar voice said.

“Professor Hyuna!” Yuchan blurted, nearly losing his balance on the tall ladder again. He was kept steady this time only by Oki’s psychic abilities. The Raichu looked at him with concern, but Yuchan patted her head to signal that he was fine. “Yes, how can I help you?”

“I need a favor,” the professor sighed, “I have to get some invitations delivered to all of the Gym Leaders. I would have done it myself, but my Gyarados came down with a fever, and I have Seonho and Guanlin already running other errands already. Hyojong and Hui are out with their Ranger squad on a mission, and it would be a terrible hassle for Nu Deliveries if I demanded same day shipping at this point. I would be very grateful if you could swing by to pick up the letters and get them to the Leaders.”

“I understand,” Yuchan said, “I can get all of that done, no problem. I was just redecorating the Pokémon League today.” And maybe for the fifth time that month, but the professor didn’t need to know that.

“Thanks so much,” Professor Hyuna said, sounding relieved and exhausted at the same time. There was a distant grumbling on the phone that sounded like a Pokémon in pain, and Yuchan could hear Hyuna distantly making soothing noises before returning to speak into the receiver. “I really owe you one.”

“It’s all good!” Yuchan assured, “I hope your Gyarados feels better!” She thanked him again and hung up. The Pokémon Champion checked the time on his phone to see it was still before lunch. If he started now he could probably get everything delivered before nightfall.

“Alright,” he turned to his Raichu, “You up for a trip today?”

“Rai!” Oki beamed and did a flip midair.

“Great! Let’s let the Elite Four know we’ll be out, and get going!”

* * *

**Location 1: Hyuna’s Lab**

Professor Hyuna had established herself in a quiet little town a ways off from any of the bigger cities in the region. She’d told Yuchan in the past that it was to make sure her research was as undisturbed as possible, though she was often sending her two assistants out for materials from the nearby cities. 

Yuchan arrived on the back of the Mandibuzz he’d borrowed from Sungjin when he left the Pokémon League. The Elite Four member had assured Yuchan that Mandibuzz was up to the task of flying them all over the region for the day. Another Elite Four member, Seungcheol, had closed the League to challengers while the Champion was out. 

He and Oki jumped down from the large bird, letting Mandibuzz stretch its wings for a few minutes until they needed to head out again. Yuchan and Oki walked around to the back of the Lab and down a narrow dirt path that led into the woods surrounding the town until they finally arrived at a large pond where Hyuna liked to conduct her research on the local wildlife. Yuchan could already see her from a distance, the large red Gyarados unmistakeable.

“Professor!” Yuchan called, getting both Hyuna and the Gyarados’ attention. The sea serpent let out a pained groan, as if she was trying to greet Yuchan but couldn’t work up the proper enthusiasm. When Yuchan finally got close enough, he could see that the Pokémon’s eyes were cloudy with fever and she could barely manage to keep herself afloat.

“Yuchan,” Hyuna said, nodding, “Oki.”

“Raichu!” Oki greeted, drifting over to pat Gyarados comfortingly. Yuchan would’ve laughed at the size difference at any other time, but the Water Pokémon’s current state had him concerned.

“Red looks worse than I thought,” Yuchan said, frowning.

Hyuna sighed, “She’s been like this since last night. I’m trying to cool her down but it might take a few more hours. Seonho went to pick up some medicine from the city. From what I can tell though, she’ll make a full recovery soon.”

“That’s good,” Yuchan said. “At least she has the best doctor in the region.”

The professor smiled. “Flattery will get you nowhere.” She bent down to rifle through one of the many bags at her feet, some overflowing with medical supplies and others with research notebooks, and came back up with a thick stack of envelopes held together by a rubber band. “Here are all of the letters for the Gym Leaders.”

Yuchan carefully took the stack and put them in his backpack. “What’s this all about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I need to speak with all of them about some matters regarding the new region opening their borders soon,” Hyuna said, waving a hand, “Boring stuff, but it has to be done. And soon.”

Yuchan nodded, recalling hearing the news mentioning that story the previous week. “The Galar region, right?”

“Right,” Hyuna said. “We’ll have to look into how tourism will affect all of their cities, and if there will possibly an influx of challengers.”

Yuchan winced, “Oh yeah.” If there were more challengers arriving in their region, Yuchan would probably have to face them soon as well.

Hyuna laughed at his expression, “Don’t worry. You and I will have our own talk about this. Probably a few talks, if our past experiences with new regions opening are anything to go by.”

“I guess I should’ve seen this coming,” Yuchan said, looking to Oki. “You ready to take on some new challengers?”

“Rai rai!” The Electric Pokémon cheered, sending a spray of sparks up.

“That’s the spirit!” Hyuna laughed. She checked her watch. “Well, you two better get going. I don’t want you to get stuck delivering after dark.”

Yuchan nodded. “See you later, Professor,” he turned to pat the Gyarados once, “Hope you feel better, Red.” And with that, the duo headed back into town to call back Mandibuzz and start on their long journey.

* * *

**Location 2: Ground Type Gym**

Mandibuzz landed in the mining town, and Yuchan returned her to her Pokéball. He looked around. The small town was usually the first stop on most Trainers’ routes to the Pokémon League. It was at the end of a short cave (that could only be explored in depth by miners and serious trainers), and had only a few houses, a Pokémon Center, and a Gym, which was where Yuchan was headed. He reached the doors just in time to see the Gym Leader locking up despite it only being early afternoon.

“Donghun!” he called, running up to the doors, “Donghun!”

“Rai!”

Donghun spun around with an irritated expression, only for it to change into one of fond amusement when he saw who was calling. “What’s up, Yuchan?” Oki tugged on the other’s pants. “Oki.” He leaned down to pet the mouse’s head. Oki made a few happy squeaking sounds as she leaned into the touch.

Yuchan swung his backpack around to his front and unzipped the large pocket. He pulled out the stack of letters, happy to find them all clearly labeled. He handed Donghun the one with his name in bold black letters on the front. “This is from Professor Hyuna.”

Donghun raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“She couldn’t make it out today. Red has a fever.”

“Yikes,” Donghun said, “I think that might be going around. Byeongkwan said his Eevee got sick the other day too.”

“Is your team okay?” Yuchan asked.

“Hm? Oh yeah,” Donghun said, nodding, “They’re great. Garchomp and I were actually about to head out when you arrived.” Now that Yuchan looked, he noticed that the other was indeed dressed like he was about to delve into the mines near town. He had his hiking boots on along with the bright reflective vest he usually wore when he was on an expedition. He was also wearing a large pack with rope and his plastic yellow hard hat clipped to it. A shovel dangled from his left hand.

Donghun slipped the note into a side pocket on his pack. “I’ll read it when I get back.”

“What’s the occasion?” Yuchan couldn’t help asking, “You don’t usually lock up this early.”

“It’s a holiday,” Donghun replied grimly.

Yuchan blinked. “Really?” He quickly ran through a list of regional holidays in his head and came up empty.

“Yep. It’s called ‘National Pull-One-Of-My-Dumb-Gym-Trainers-Out-Of-A-Hole-Day’,” Donghun said, turning in the direction of the mines. “It comes multiple times a year. Sometimes multiple times a month if I’m particularly unlucky.”

Yuchan blinked. “Well. Good luck with that.” Donghun grunted.

“You headed to all the other Gyms then?” Donghun asked.

“Yeah.”

“Great. Tell Jun that he owes me twenty bucks.” He nodded to Chan and Oki one last time and took a deep, fortifying breath before heading toward the mines.

Yuchan pulled out Mandibuzz’s Pokéball. “Next stop: Byeongkwan!”

* * *

**Location 3: Normal Type Gym**

The next town was much bigger than Donghun’s (though not really large enough to be called a city). Yuchan landed in the middle of an open field of flowers and traveled a short distance down a dirt path until he came to the center of the town. From there he could see a handful of stores, including Shangri La Clothing, Wild KARD hair salon and the newest addition, a candle and scented oil shop called VeriVery Natural Fragrances. 

He lingered for just a second to try and smell the floral scents wafting out of the shop before heading past it toward the town’s Gym. Yuchan braced himself for what was about to come, and he could see Oki doing the same at his side, the electric mouse covering up her ears preemptively. “You ready?” he asked.

“Rai…”

He pushed the door open, and was immediately blinded by a number of spotlights and loud bass. Oki squeaked and hid behind Yuchan.

“WELCOME CHALLENGER!” a voice boomed. “ARE YOU READY TO BATTLE?!”

Yuchan raised a hand to shield his face. “Byeongkwan!” he yelled, struggling to be heard over the electronic music, “It’s just me!” Abruptly, the spotlights dimmed, and the building’s normal overhead lights went on. Yuchan lowered his arm and blinked the black spots out of his eyes.

“Yuchan?” the voice asked. “MingMing, cut the confetti cannon! It’s just Yuchan!” The Champion walked into the Gym to see the layout unsurprisingly changed since his last visit. He turned toward the black haired Gym trainer, MingMing, to his right near the entrance, now standing behind a large cannon.

“Byeongkwan remodeled the place again?” he asked, though he already was pretty certain of the answer.

MingMing gave him a dead eyed stare before nodding. His Glameow at his side looked equally unimpressed. “I don’t know where he’s getting the money.”

Yuchan looked around the Gym to see the interior was currently arranged into what appeared to be a dance floor full of light up tiles that led in different paths from where he was standing. On the other side of the room was a raised stage with spotlights mounted on scaffolding and pointing in every direction. Byeongkwan was standing on the edge of the stage, waving a hand as he set his microphone back into its stand. One of his Loudred clung to the stage’s support structures. It must have been amplifying Byeongkwan’s music before.

“Be careful where you step,” MingMing advised, wheeling the cannon back with some effort. “The dance floor’s designed to open up into a pool if you step on the wrong tile.”

Yuchan blinked before turning back to the floor with caution. “Where do I walk?” he yelled up to the Leader.

“Oh, hang on!” Byeongkwan picked up a control panel that looked suspiciously like a repurposed launch pad. He pressed a few buttons on the device, and suddenly a path in bright green squares lit up on the dance floor. Yuchan stepped on the squares carefully, half ready to have Oki catch him with her psychic power should the floor suddenly disappear, but he made it across without incident.

He walked up the steps to the stage. “For you,” he said, pulling out Byeongkwan’s letter and handing it to the Gym Leader. “From Professor Hyuna.”

Byeongkwan took the letter and grinned. “Thanks, Yuchannie!” He pulled the younger into a hug. “And it’s good to see you again! You need to visit more.”

Yuchan gave a strangled noise until Byeongkwan let him down from the embrace. “Maybe I’d visit more if I knew it was safe to walk on the floor,” he said.

The Gym Leader laughed. “You’re one to talk about renovations. I hear from the guys on the bridge that the Pokémon League has a constantly shifting interior.” Yuchan quietly cursed Seungcheol for spilling details about Yuchan’s many remodeling projects to his twelve friends, who liked to battle trainers on the bridge that connected Byeongkwan’s town to the next town over.

Yuchan grimaced, “I’m just trying to find what works! All of the previous Champions had no imagination!”

“I’m just messing with you,” Byeongkwan said, ripping the envelope open with his thumb. He scanned the letter’s contents quickly. “The Galar region, huh?”

“Yeah,” Yuchan said, “The professor wouldn’t tell me much, but she mentioned we might have a lot of people dropping by our region soon once the borders open.”

“It would make sense,” Byeongkwan agreed. A smile spread over his features. “You know what more challengers means!”

Yuchan heard various groans from trainers around the Gym, MingMing’s being particularly loud. “Dare I ask?”

Byeongkwan pulled the microphone off the stand, making Yuchan plug his ears preemptively. “LET’S CHANGE UP THE GYM!!!”

* * *

**Location 4: Fairy Type Gym**

Ears still ringing, Yuchan and Oki touched down at their next stop. This town could probably be called more of an extended resort, with its key beach front location and a number of ocean side restaurants, hotels, and shops. There was a Gym there, but the main draws of the town was the BTS Battle Buffet and the Priz One Game Corner. 

There were rumors amongst the locals that the Game Corner was cursed. Before it was called Priz One, it was Wanna Win, and even before that I.O.I Games. None of the businesses had lasted to two years without shutting down and remodeling. That said, it was a such a draw for tourists coming off of cruises that it was still immensely popular despite its reputation.

The Gym in the town was barely recognizable as a Gym, and in fact many trainers had experienced the embarrassment of walking right past it and having to ask a local for directions. It wasn’t really the trainers’ faults. The town Gym was built in a remodeled cafe and now functioned as part Gym, part soda shop. For those looking, they were better off searching for the D.Store than a traditional Gym.

The D.Store was located near the piers and was always bustling with customers. It was a great place for those who ordered drinks to take down to the beach, or those who just wanted to relax in the air conditioning for a bit. It was also entertaining for those who wanted to see which customers were actually trainers looking to battle the the Gym trainers and Leader, JinJin.

When Yuchan had first heard the concept of the D.Store, he’d thought it was both brilliant and hilarious. The soda shop was split into two halves, one a regular dining area, and the other a long hallway that split off into colorful rooms to battle the trainers and the Gym Leader. The way to issue a challenge was by ordering the Gym’s specific drinks off of the menu. Once beaten the Gym trainer would give the challenger a stamp and, after they’d received all of their stamps, then they could challenge the Gym Leader. If a challenger lost the battle, they’d at least get the special drink they had ordered as a consolation.

All of the Gym’s battle drinks were clearly marked, though there were occasionally mixups where confused tourists would order the Mixed Moon Fruit or Sunshine Sailor and suddenly be faced with one of the shop’s employees throwing down with them in the early afternoon. From what Yuchan could gather, this happened the most often to Eunwoo, though that might be because many of his admirers would order his drink without expecting to face him in battle. 

Yuchan spotted said man as soon as he walked up to the shop, the other handing out fliers to tourists outside the store. Eunwoo was dressed in the store’s typical uniform, a long apron, pinstriped button up and black pants and shoes. The only part of the uniform that differed from employee to employee was the color of the outfit. Eunwoo’s happened to be a bright blue.

“If you order three drinks, all subsequent ones are half off,” Eunwoo was telling a group of girls. They girls were all were whispering furiously to each other, one finally working up the courage to take the flier from him. “I hope to see you all soon!” They group let out a few nervous laughs before hurrying away in a mess of giggles.

“You’re all the advertising this place needs,” Yuchan laughed. Eunwoo turned to him with a smile.

“I’m just being nice,” he said, “I hope it doesn’t get misconstrued.”

“It’s fine,” Yuchan said, “You gotta use everything to your advantage.”

“Rai!” Oki agreed at his side.

Yuchan felt something tugging on his pants leg. He looked down.

“….kyuuuu….” Eunwoo’s Mimikyu was standing there, a flier in one of it’s shadowy hands.

“Thank you!” Yuchan said, taking the paper. Mimikyu scurried back to Eunwoo’s side. Yuchan scanned the flier to see that the deal Eunwoo had mentioned to the group of girls was written on it, along with a coupon for 25% off the daily special. He handed the ad to Oki, who squinted as she struggled to read it.

“Good job,” Eunwoo said, handing Mimikyu another flier to pass out. “Why don’t you ask that couple over there?” He pointed to two people on the beach setting up an umbrella.

“Kyu!” The Pokémon scuttled off toward them.

“So what brings you two here?” Eunwoo asked.

“I have a letter for JinJin from Professor Hyuna,” Yuchan said.

“Oh! Well, he’s in the back,” Eunwoo said. “You know what drink to order.” Yuchan nodded and headed into the D.Store. The interior of the D.Store was a vintage kind of café aesthetic, with bright neon lights lining the walls and soda bottles full of colorful liquids in the windows. While he and Oki waited for a server, the mouse handed Yuchan the flier back. He folded it up and put it in his backpack. Irene might want to use it later, he’d have to show it to her when he got back to the League.

“Welcome!” Yuchan was greeted by Moonbin, who blinked when he recognized the Champion. Moonbin’s outfit was a vibrant red, which only emphasized his excitable personality. “What’s the Champion doing here today?”

Yuchan smiled, “I need a Turtle Lime.”

Moonbin nodded and led Yuchan to the bar at the back of the restaurant and gestured to a stool for Yuchan to sit on. He then turned to the kitchen doors. “One Turtle Lime!” he yelled, and then softer to Yuchan, “He’ll be right out.” He left with one last grin as Yuchan sat down.

Moonbin was right, as hardly a few minutes later JinJin was pushing out through the doors in the back, dressed in a green version of the uniform and wiping his hands on his apron. His Sylveon trailed behind him, ribbons sparkling under the neon lights. JinJin looked to the counter, and did a double take when he noticed Yuchan.

“Champion!” JinJin exclaimed, sliding behind the counter of the bar. His Sylveon took up its spot on a bed near the bar, and Oki floated over to the other Pokémon to socialize. “Can I get you something? I imagine you don’t want to battle me.” He laughed, but cut himself off quickly, “Uh, you don’t want to battle me, right?” He tapped his fingers on the bar nervously like Yuchan might actually challenge him right then and there.

Yuchan laughed and the tension left the Gym Leader’s shoulders, “No, not today.”

“Ah, so did you actually want the Turtle Lime?” JinJin asked.

“No,” Yuchan pulled out the letter addressed to JinJin, “I’m playing delivery boy. It’s from Professor Hyuna.”

JinJin made a sound of thanks as he took the letter. “Oh, that’s alright then. Usually she or one of her assistants deliver these though. Is everything okay?”

“Red’s sick right now,” Yuchan said, “Hyuna’s staying with her.”

JinJin’s eyebrows drew together in concern, “That’s awful. I’ll have to send some drinks over later. They need to stay hydrated.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that,” Yuchan said.

“You probably have a lot more deliveries to make today,” JinJin said, tucking the letter into a pocket on his apron. “Want a soda for the road?”

“Syl!” The Sylveon perked up as soon as soda was mentioned.

“Rai!” To Yuchan’s despair, his partner looked equally eager to have a drink.

Yuchan glanced at Oki’s expectant eyes and groaned. Despite being the regional Champion, this was one battle he wasn’t winning. “One Turtle Lime for me, and one Outburst Orange for Oki.”

He’d hardly said the words before the doors to the kitchen burst open, a short man in a bright orange outfit running out. “Who ordered the Outburst Orange, and can you wait for me to finish the drinks?!”

JinJin laughed. “It’s okay, MJ, there’s no battle.”

MJ’s glance landed on Yuchan and Oki. “Okay good, because they already beat all of us up, and I’m not eager for a repeat performance.”

* * *

**Location 5: Ghost Type Gym**

“She’s out today.” Was what Yuchan was greeted with when he walked up to the next town’s Gym.

“What?” Yuchan asked.

“She’s out,” the woman in front of him repeated, the Chandelure by her side staring emptily at them. Oki edged away from it. “She’s performing a séance in town.”

“Oh,” Yuchan said. “Well, can you give this letter to JiU then?” he held out the letter intended for the Gym Leader. “It’s from Professor Hyuna.”

The woman, Dami if Yuchan remembered correctly, took the envelope. “Yes, I can do that.” 

“Thanks,” Yuchan said. He got a nod in return as Dami and her Chandelure disappeared back into the renovated hotel turned Gym. Yuchan turned to Oki, who was shivering next to him despite it being the high point of the day temperature wise. Yuchan looked around the small town. It kind of gave him the creeps any time he came here. There was fog that spilled from the forest surrounding the village in the morning, and during the day it was more muggy, which made it hard to breathe. Night time was the worst though, many of the townspeople never left their houses after sundown, and there were rumors that there was a Darkrai living in the hotel.

Yuchan shuddered slightly, but put on a brave face for his Pokémon. “Alright! What’s next?”

* * *

**Location 6: Steel Type Gym**

The next city they visited was crowded with people and clogged with skyscrapers, the buildings lifting so high up that Yuchan couldn’t see the tops. This city was the center of business in the region, many companies setting up their headquarters here. As he walked down the crowded streets, Oki safely in her Pokéball to avoid getting squashed in the rush of people, he spotted a number of big name stores. Monsta Toys had set up across the street from GOT Threads. Yuchan even spotted the big broadcasting station where EXO Planet filmed all of their educational shows. Yuchan himself had grown up watching the program, and it had been like a dream to meet them when he’d managed to win a raffle to attend one of their episode filmings.

He let Oki out again when they’d reached the relative calm of the Gym. The Gym itself was actually on the edge of town, probably since there was no end to the clanking of machinery coming from it. It was enough to provoke considerable complaints from the surrounding businesses even now. Yuchan wondered if there was some way he could suggest the Gym add more insulation and sound proofing measures. He pushed open the Gym’s doors without hesitation, only to duck as a mechanical arm zoomed over his head, nearly taking it off in the process.

“Rai!” Oki cried out in distress.

“Sorry!” a voice called. Yuchan saw one of the Gym trainers riding in a cab that the mechanical arm was attached to. The arm reached over Yuchan’s head to grab a lever and pull down. There was a groan of metal, and Yuchan could feel the floor vibrate as one of the massive steel walls in front of him shifted.

The Steel Type Gym was set up in a maze, with a number of levers and gears in it that shifted the layout around. It could take trainers a good bit of puzzle solving to make it to the back of the Gym where the Leader waited. Yuchan himself had a fair share of trouble trying to work the whole thing out.

The man in the cab squinted at Yuchan before recognizing him. Yuchan realized who was driving at the same time. “Yuchan?”

“Seungjun?” He’d only met the other briefly at a party for all the Gym leaders and trainers, but he recalled the other because of his notable height that left him towering over most of the attendants.

Seungjun turned his machine off and hopped down, standing an intimidating amount above Yuchan. The Champion didn’t know why, but all of the trainers in the Gym happened to be incredibly tall. “Are you here to see Sehyoon?”

Yuchan nodded in confirmation. “I have a message for him.”

“Okay, wait here a second.” Seungjun pulled a walkie talkie off his belt and muttered into it. A minute later, the walls in front of Yuchan shifted until there was a clear path from the front of the building to the back. 

Yuchan marveled at it. “I wish I had that when I challenged the Gym the first time.” Oki nodded in agreement.

Seungjun laughed. “That’d be no fun, though!” He gave Seungjun one last wave and watched the other jump back into the cab and drive off into the Gym.

He made his way to the back, seeing the rest of the trainers in passing as they all worked to keep the various moving parts running. Most of them could barely spare him more than a short greeting before having to dive back into the maze. When he made it to the back, he was relieved. The Gym Leader had his back to Yuchan, alternately prodding at and banging on an electrical panel with a wrench.

“Sehyoon!” Yuchan called. The man spun around so quickly that he dropped his wrench, which landed on the ground with a harsh clang. Both Yuchan and Oki winced at that.

“Yuchan?” The Leader wiped some sweat from his forehead, leaving behind a streak of dirt in the process. “What are you doing here? It’s not really the best time. Some of our machines are acting up.”

“What’s the problem?” Yuchan asked, frowning.

Sehyoon sighed. “It’s our power box. We need to generate more energy to get it up and running.”

“Well…” Yuchan said, glancing at Oki.

Sehyoon snapped his fingers. “Good idea!” He stood back from the panel and motioned for Yuchan to do the same.

“Use Thunderbolt!” Yuchan commanded.

“RaiCHU!” Electricity arced off of Oki and hit the panel, kick starting it. It froze briefly, before lighting up. Immediately, the lights in the Gym got brighter, and Yuchan could hear a tired cheer from the other trainers scattered throughout the maze.

“Thanks, Yuchan,” Sehyoon said with a smile. “We’ll be getting a professional to come look at it tomorrow, but this should work for now at least.”

“Just be careful,” Yuchan said. He suddenly remembered why he was there. “Oh, this is for you from the professor.” He handed over the letter to Sehyoon.

Sehyoon removed his rubber gloves and tore the letter open. He made a face. “We’re gonna have to move up our time frame for fixing the Gym if we’re going to be getting more tourists,” he said.

“Let me know if I can help,” Yuchan offered.

“Will do,” Sehyoon tucked the letter away into his tool bag. “How have you two been though? How’s the League?”

“Not much happening,” Yuchan replied, “Oki and I were repainting the room this morning-“

“Again?”

“It’s only the fifth time!” Yuchan protested. Sehyoon let the point stand. “Okay, fine.”

“When are you going to be happy with that room?” Sehyoon asked, shaking his head though he was smiling.

Yuchan groaned, “Probably never.”

“Rai.” Oki patted Yuchan on the shoulder.

“One day you’ll find something that sticks,” Sehyoon assured him. “Until then, don’t remodel too much. It give Byeongkwan an excuse to change up his own Gym all the time and then MingMing calls me at 3 AM to complain.”

* * *

**Location 7: Dragon Type Gym**

Yuchan rubbed at his eyes, despite many advisements not to do so. He couldn’t help it, the sunlight in the town was too harsh, and the wind constantly blew sand around. The town was at the end of a particularly long desert patch, and even in this oasis Yuchan was getting sand where it Should Not Be.

“We won’t be here too long,” Yuchan said to Oki, as his partner, hovered above the scorching hot ground.

“chu…” He had no idea how the locals lived here.

Leading up to the Gym was a long dirt staircase with the Gym perched on top of a hill. Yuchan tried to fan himself as they climbed, pausing every so often to catch their breath. He should have picked up a water bottle from the Pokémon Center.

At last they reached the top. Yuchan was greeted by a sign on the door that read “Watch Your Step. Teething Season.”

“What does that-?” Yuchan began. Suddenly, he felt a mouth clamp down onto his leg. Though he was sure whatever had bit him hadn’t broken skin, he still yelled and flailed in surprise, overbalancing and landing on his butt. “What the-?!”

“Gible, NO!” a voice yelled. Running footsteps got closer to where Yuchan was sprawled on the ground. He managed to sit up and see that it was, indeed, a Gible that had latched onto his leg and was now gnawing on his shin.

“Hey there, little guy,” Yuchan said, “Would you mind letting me go?” He just got a muffled whining sound for his trouble. The young dragon was hardly more than a baby. Yuchan wouldn’t be surprised if it was less than a month old.

“Rai! Rai!” Oki was hovering around, clearly unsure of what to do. She looked hesitant to try and pry the Gible off, but equally reluctant to leave it gumming on her trainer.

“Gible!” the voice yelled again. A boy appeared in Yuchan’s line of vision. He was clearly disheveled, clothes a rumpled mess and hair sticking up in every direction. He had shallow bite marks all over his legs and arms, and Yuchan reasoned he’d been in a similar situation to Yuchan not to long ago. “Oh my god!”

“It’s okay,” Yuchan tried to say.

“I’m so sorry!” the boy said, racing over and coming up behind the baby dragon. With practiced moves, he managed to unlatch the dragon from Yuchan’s leg. “That was very naughty!” he scolded, though he held the Pokémon gently. He shifted the dragon to one arm and pulled a rubber toy, giving it to the Gible to gnaw on. It accepted happily and made soft rumbling noises. He sighed in relief.

“He’s so cute!” Yuchan whispered. The boy jolted like he’d forgotten Yuchan was still on the ground.

“Sorry again about that,” he said, offering his free hand to help Yuchan to his feet. “This one got away from us after lunch time, and I’ve been trying to track him down ever since.”

“It’s all fine,” Yuchan said, smiling. “He didn’t hurt me.”

The newcomer grinned. “His teeth haven’t fully grown in yet, luckily. We’ve got a bunch of babies right now, so everyone’s been dealing with their bites. I swear, they bit San in his sleep… Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. My name’s Yunho.”

“Yuchan,” the Champion said, waiting for the pin to drop. Shockingly it didn’t, as Yunho didn’t have any visible reaction to the name. Yuchan abruptly remembered that this Gym had a new Leader and trainers who were probably still figuring everything out. Their predecessors had left recently to start their own business, but Hyuna had been confident in the new Gym’s abilities. They’d been so busy getting settled that Yuchan hadn’t had a chance to visit them yet.

“Oh, sorry! Are you here to challenge the Gym?” Yunho was saying, snapping Yuchan back to the present. “We can set up the Gym fast if you wait a few minutes…”

“No, that’s okay!” Yuchan said, “I’m actually here on an errand for Professor Hyuna. She wanted me to deliver a message to Hongjoong.”

Yunho blinked. “Are you one of her assistants?”

“No,” Yuchan said, “Actually, I’m-“

“YUNHO!” A voice yelled, “THE DEINOS ARE GANGING UP ON WOOYOUNG!”

Yunho groaned. “Coming!” he looked to Yuchan apologetically. “If you follow me, the rest of us are trying to get all of the babies under control. You can probably find Hongjoong there.”

Yuchan grinned at the chance of getting to see a bunch of baby dragons. “Lead the way.” He followed Yunho into the Gym, absently admiring the way the large building was constructed with plenty of light and open spaces. There was also a large courtyard that Yuchan assumed was for battling.

They passed the courtyard and continued into the back of the Gym, most likely an area for just the Leader and trainers that most challengers wouldn’t see. Yunho used his free hand to carefully open a heavy wooden door, just enough for the two of them to squeeze in, and then quickly shut it behind him. In the middle of the new room was a large open space in the ground with a large pond dug into the floor in the far corner, with more hallways branching off of the room (presumably leading to bedrooms and bathrooms). The room was also in complete chaos.

To Yuchan’s delight, there were a number of baby dragons, all waddling around and trying to get their feet under them. To Yunho’s distress, the dragons were attacking the rest of the trainers and also the Gym Leader. He set the Gible down, and it immediately ran off to join its siblings in attacking the poor Gym trainers.

“IT’S ON MY HEAD! IT’S ON MY HEAD!” One of them screamed, pulling at a Deino that was munching on his hair. 

“Hold still, Wooyoung!” another yelled, making a grab at the dragon, “Or I’m gonna hit you by accident!”

“Motherf-!” another yelled, as a Jangmo-o chomped on his arm.

“No swearing in front of the babies!”

“GET THIS THING OFF ME!”

“Who put the Trapinches by the Bagons?! That was the one thing I told you all not to do!”

A boy with brown hair rushed past them lifting four baby dragons with nearly no effort and yelled, “Where do I put these?”

“Over here, Jongho!”

“Has anyone seen that tiny Axew?”

“Forget Axew, has anyone seen Mingi?”

“He got pulled into the pond by a bunch of Dratini’s, and I’m not going after him!”

Yuchan stared. “Is it…usually like this?”

“Would you believe me if I said no?” Yunho asked.

“No.”

“You’re right.”

“Okay…” Yuchan said, observing the chaos. “Which one is Hongjoong?”

“He’s,” Yunho scanned the area, “Over there.” He pointed to another boy who was currently in the process of being head butted in the gut by a Bagon.

“Ah.”

“Hey, Hongjoong!” Yunho called. The other looked up just in time to get hit in the gut again. He doubled over. “You have a message!”

“Glurgh,” the Gym Leader replied.

“I’ll go save him, you can help the others,” Yuchan said. “Oki, go with him.”

“Rai!”

“If you’re sure,” Yunho said. Yuchan nodded, and the two left and made a beeline for the pond in the back, where a worrying stream of bubbles was trailing up from its depths.

By the time Yuchan reached the Leader, he was holding the Bagon over his shoulder so it couldn’t charge him anymore, though this left him wide open for a Trapinch to trip him up. He landed on his back, losing his grip on the Bagon in the process. The two baby dragons ran off together to terrorize the rest of the trainers.

“You alright there?” Yuchan asked, helping the Gym Leader to his feet. He patted the other on the back for a few seconds as he regained his breath.

“Yep. Great. I’m great,” the Leader said, trying to straighten up. “Hi, I’m Hongjoong. Are you a challenger?”

“No, but I’ve got a message for you from Professor Hyuna,” Yuchan handed an envelope to Hongjoong. “It’s about that new region that’s opening its borders.”

“Galar?” Hongjoong asked. “I’ll have to look at it somewhere safe then. It’ll probably get torn up if I try to read it here.” He scanned the room in its various states of disorder. Oki had fished a writhing mass of Dratini all wrapped around a drenched boy that Yuchan assumed was the aforementioned Mingi. Yunho was trying to untangle them and free the other.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Yuchan laughed.

“Sorry, are you one of her assistants?” Hongjoong asked. “I only know about Seonho and Guanlin.”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself,” Yuchan said, “I meant to stop by after you all got settled in, but I could never find the time. My name is Kang Yuchan.”

Hongjoong froze, as did all of the members within hearing.

“Like the Champion?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, exactly like that!” Yuchan laughed.

“Oh my god,” Hongjoong muttered. “This isn’t happening.” He looked up to meet Yuchan’s gaze. “I am… we aren’t usually… I mean.”

“It’s really no big-“

“This is so embarrassing, we’ve really been trying to fix up the place-“

“Really! You’re all doing a great job-“

“I swear we’re more organized, it’s just a bad time-“

“HONGJOONG!” Yuchan yelled, stopping the other from his downward spiral. “It’s really okay. It’s actually really nice! All of the Pokémon here look like they’re doing great and having fun. I promise you, there are other Gyms that are equally chaotic. Like pretty much every Gym. Even the Pokémon League has its moments. You’re all doing great.”

Hongjoong stared, like he was thinking Yuchan might be joking. When he found that Yuchan had nothing to say after that, he finally relaxed. “Thanks.”

Yuchan grinned. “I know it’s hard getting a Gym off the ground. I’ve talked to a lot of the other Leaders. They were all in your place once. If you ever need any help around here, please don’t hesitate to ask any of us.” Yuchan pulled a sticky note out of his back pack along with a pen and quickly scribbled down his number.

“Here,” he said, handing it over to Hongjoong, “If you ever need me, or need to know something about the Gyms or League, give me a call. We all help each other out around here.” Hongjoong gave him a small smile.

The minute was broken by the sound of someone throwing up water. Hongjoong and Yuchan both looked over to see Yunho pounding Mingi on the back to help him get all of the water out of his lungs. As if on cue, the room descended into chaos once again.

Hongjoong buried his face in his hands. “Mrfgh.”

Yuchan laughed. “You guys are gonna be okay.”

* * *

**Location 8: Fire Type Gym**

After the adventure at Hongjoong’s Gym, Yuchan was exhausted. He’d spent an hour trying to help all of them get the baby dragons to settle down, which eventually happened when they tiny dragons had tired themselves out enough to pass out. At nearly the same time, all the Gym trainers and Leader had also been tired enough to pass out right there on the ground. Yuchan had taken his leave after he and Oki had dragged or floated them all into their beds for a nap.

Following that they set out for the next town, tired, sore, and truly grateful there weren’t many stops left. When they got back to the Pokémon League, Yuchan planned on eating all of the food he possibly could and then passing out. He nearly fell off of the Mandibuzz on the way there, and was only saved by Oki’s Psychic keeping him in place.

The next town was thankfully cooler than the previous desert oasis. This town was fairly nondescript with smaller businesses like the Mamamooving Company with its offshoots ONEWEEK Construction and ONEUSEFUL plumbing. This was also where the post office, Nu Deliveries was stationed, and it was clear from the Wartortle themed delivery trucks out front.

Yuchan strode up to the front doors of the Gym and knocked with a little more force than necessary, already thinking about the huge pizza he was going to demolish and also his bed. There was a beat of silence as he and Oki waited. The electric mouse did its best to cheer him up, and Yuchan gave her a few pets in gratitude. The Gym in this town also had fairly new trainers, but they had been there longer than the Dragon type Gym, and their predecessors had prepared them well for the challenges.

Yuchan jolted as the door cracked open a little. He could see the Gym Leader’s face through the crack, but it definitely wasn’t enough to see into the Gym and he didn’t appear to be moving to let Yuchan in anytime soon.

“Uh, hello,” the Leader said. “We’re kind of busy right now-“

“I’ll be quick,” Yuchan said. “Bang Chan, right?”

The other nodded, opening the door a little more. Yuchan still couldn’t really see what was going on inside, but he could at least see the Leader more clearly now. “And you’re the Champion? Sorry we haven’t really met, but I did see you at the last dinner the League hosted.”

“Oh really? We should talk more next time,” Yuchan said.

“Rai!” Oki said, holding up the letter to Bang Chan.

“Right, we’re here to deliver a letter from Professor Hyuna-“ Yuchan paused. “Do you smell smoke?”

“What? No,” Bang Chan said quickly, “I don’t smell smoke, there is none, maybe you’re smelling the barbecue we had for lunch and-“

“THE KITCHEN’S ON FIRE!” someone inside the Gym yelled.

Bang Chan closed his eyes and groaned. The door finally swung wide open and Bang Chan retreated, leaving Yuchan to follow him into the Gym.

The main area was what Yuchan remembered seeing on a previous visit, a large twisting pathway around a number of torches that would be lit upon defeating the Gym’s trainers, but the smoke trailing out from a back room was new.

“I thought you guys fire proofed every inch of this Gym,” Yuchan said.

“We did,” Bang Chan muttered. Upon reaching the back, Yuchan watched as eight other boys frantically tried to put out a fire somehow growing larger around the trashcan near the kitchen counter.

“How did _this one_ happen?” Bang Chan asked, absolutely unfazed by the flames.

“Seungmin’s Magmar sneezed on it!” one of them said quickly, pointing to another.

“Nuh-uh!” Seungmin protested, “Felix’s Blaziken wasn’t paying attention and backed into it!” 

Bang Chan held up a hand. “You know what? I don’t care who started the fire actually. He pulled a fire extinguisher from the wall near the counter and sprayed it on the flames of the trash can until it was covered in foam. The room still smelled of smoke, and there were black scorch marks on the counter. The trash can was a melted heap of plastic and smelled disgusting.

The Gym Leader set the empty fire extinguisher aside and opened one of the cabinets under the counter to pull out another and place it in the fire extinguisher holder. Yuchan could see a number of other fire extinguishers in the cabinet before Bang Chan closed the door. Some of the trainers scattered now that the excitement was over, but a couple remained, milling around and trying to figure out what to do with the melted garbage can. Yuchan was certain one of them mentioned trying to pass it off as a modern art piece.

“Does this happen often?” he asked as Bang Chan returned to stand next to him.

Bang Chan smiled. “Only on days that end in a ‘y’.”

“Rai!” Oki held up the letter again.

“Oh, thanks!” Yuchan handed the letter over. “This is from the Professor.”

“What’s it say?” one of the trainers asked, already reaching for it.

“It says Nunya,” Bang Chan replied, holding the letter out of reach of the other’s grabby hands.

“What’s Nunya?”

“Nunya business!”

“Murkrow, get the letter!”

“Oh sh-!” Bang Chan ducked as a black bird appeared in a flash of light. “HAN, PUT THAT AWAY!”

“No! Give me the letter!”

“Krow!” Murkrow cawed.

“I hate this bird!”

“That’s no way to talk about my son!”

“Yuchan, run!” Bang Chan said, herding the Champion out the door as they were pursued by the Flying type. Yuchan didn’t need to play along, but frankly he was having too much fun, ducking the bird’s sweeping wings and trying to dodge among the torches. Apparently the other trainers were feeling left out, and soon Bang Chan and Yuchan were running from an assortment of Pokémon and trainers alike.

“Are you guys playing without us?”

“No fair!”

“Charizard, let’s go!”

“Bang Chan! Pyroar wants a rematch!”

“You’re all nightmares!” Bang Chan said, barely jumping out of the way of a Rapidash. The horse’s rider swore as he tried to turn around. Yuchan ducked as a stream of fire arched over his head, close enough for him to feel the heat. “You need to get out of here!” Bang Chan pointed to the door on the other side of the Gym.

“We gotta go, Oki!” he said, feeling laughter bubble up in his stomach as he climbed one of the torch pillars and out of the way of a slow moving Macargo. He then jumped over the fire snail toward the exit in the distance, narrowly avoiding an Infernape’s punch.

“Come on!” One said, a Talonflame racing over Bang Chan’s head to Yuchan’s right. “Just let us read it!”

“No!” Bang Chan said and tossed a Pokéball to the side. His Typhlosion appeared in a burst of light. “Use Swift!” he shouted, sending a spray of stars toward the boy on the bird. The other cursed, and veered away. 

“Not so fast!” Yuchan looked up to see the boy from earlier who’d sent the initial Murkrow out now flying on a huge unfamiliar bird. It looked like nothing Yuchan had ever seen before.

“Corviknight! Get that letter!” Han ordered.

Both Bang Chan and Yuchan hit the ground as the bird dive bombed them, its tailwind making their hair and clothes fly up in its wake. The bird had to circle back up to regain its momentum, but Yuchan was sure it would dive bomb them again.

“Why do you even have Flying types?!” Bang Chan yelled, “This is a Fire Gym! I should know! I’m the Leader!” Han’s only response was to laugh loudly and aim for them again. Bang Chan shoved Yuchan and Oki toward the exit.

“Avenge me!” was the last thing Yuchan heard, as the doors to the Gym slammed behind them. Yuchan and Oki stood there, stunned, for a few seconds. They turned to look at each other.

“These new guys are wild,” Yuchan said. Oki nodded. They both burst into laughter. At least the region would be more interesting from now on.

* * *

**Location 9: Water Type Gym**

After the craziness of both the Dragon Type and Fire Type Gyms, Yuchan was almost disappointed when he made it to the next town and it was as peaceful as ever. Though he shouldn’t really be surprised. The town’s proximity to a slow river and peaceful open fields was why places like the SHINee Futures retirement and recovery center for Pokémon was established there. The naturally fresh air and quiet town was a great place for Pokémon recovering from diseases, injuries, and trauma. Yuchan sometimes stopped by on the weekend to play with the Pokémon for a bit.

There was also the crown jewel and major attraction of the region in this town: The Bulbasaur Garden. It was a large establishment run by a man named Gwangsuk (though he went by Feeldog for some reason) and his few employees. Yuchan could see the transparent dome in the distance, which let in sunlight and allowed for them to have a lush greenhouse and garden for all of the Grass types. The Garden was incredibly popular with both a battle portion and relaxation area, and they would often host events like meditation classes or allow therapy groups to make use of the quiet place. Of course, the main draw was the numerous Bulbasaur’s that populated the garden and helped keep all the plants healthy. Yuchan would go there whenever he felt too stressed out by his responsibilities to just hold one of the Bulbasaur’s and relax.

But he wasn’t there for that at this moment. Instead, Yuchan headed straight for the Gym, which was considerably more exciting than the town. The entrance branched off with a locker room to the right and a changing room on the left. There was a curtain leading to the back of the Gym. Usually, people would have to change into swimsuits to get through the Gym, the whole thing being a series of water slides to various platforms, that finally landed in a pool where the Gym Leader’s battle would be held. Normally Yuchan would be happy to play around on the slides, but this time he headed for a door in the locker room, unlocked it with a key he kept on a ring with his keys to the League, and headed down a spiraling staircase to the bottom floor, where the leader’s platform would be waiting.

He exited the staircase and was immediately assaulted by the smell of chlorine and the sound of running water. He walked across the narrow walkway to the center of the platform, Oki hovering warily behind him and eyeing the water with distrust. Even though her attacks were super effective against Water types, she didn’t enjoy getting wet.

The Gym Leader looked over from where he was drizzling water on his Vaporeon to see Yuchan striding up to him. He broke out into a grin. His Vaporeon similarly perked up upon seeing Oki. “Yuchan!”

“Vay!” The Water type cried, bouncing back and forth on the platform.

“Rai Raichu!” Oki waved back.

“Hey, Jun!” Yuchan said. He met his friend on the platform. Vaporeon tackled Oki into a hug and the two chattered excitedly together. “It’s been a while.”

“Too long,” Jun agreed. “I’m worried that I see you the least out of the four of us. I’m losing to Donghun!” 

Before Yuchan had become Champion, he’d traveled with some of the other Gym Leaders on their own journeys. He, Donghun, Jun, Sehyoon, and Byeongkwan had all challenged various Gyms and experienced terrifying and incredible things in the region. Sometimes he missed those days where it was just the five of them traveling around and training to become the best trainers they could be. He wondered if someday they could all take a vacation to another region and do it all over again. It’d probably be well into the future with how busy all of them were now, but he could still dream.

Yuchan laughed. “It’s not a competition. I visit you all equally.”

“So you say,” Jun said, narrowing his eyes, though Yuchan could see a smile tugging at the other’s lips. Yuchan waited him out, and the other finally cracked, grinning widely. “Alright, I’ll stop. But I really do miss talking to you. We should go out to the Battle Buffet sometime, all of us, and catch up.”

Yuchan nodded. “Sounds great! Oh, and Donghun says you owe him twenty bucks.”

Jun muttered a curse under his breath. “I thought he’d forgotten about that.”

“Evidently not.” Yuchan laughed as Jun glared off into the distance.

“So, what did you come here for?” Jun asked. “I doubt it was just to collect debts on behalf of Donghun.”

“I have a letter for you from Professor Hyuna,” Yuchan said. “She couldn’t make it. Red’s sick.”

Jun took the letter and looked concerned. “Does she need help? I know she’s a professor, but I do have experience with Water types…”

“I think she’s alright, but she might call you if it gets worse,” Yuchan said, “She seemed pretty confident though that it would be gone soon.”

Jun bit his lip. “Alright. Do you have many more stops to make?” Yuchan pulled his backpack off to double check, but Jun was the last Gym Leader.

“Nah, you should be my last,” he paused as he felt one more envelope in his bag. He pulled it out with a frown.

“Whose is that?”

“Ah,” Yuchan said in realization. “It’s Taeyong’s.”

“Oh,” Jun said, drawing out the sound, “You should probably get going then. It’s a long flight to the Battle Frontier.” He glanced at a clock mounted on the wall. “And the sun will probably go down in about an hour.”

“You’re right,” Yuchan agreed, “See you later, Jun!”

“See you, Yuchan! And I’m serious about that dinner!”

* * *

**Location 10: Battle Frontier**

The Battle Frontier was set apart from every other town in the region, and for good reason. It was full of Legendaries. Pokémon powerful enough to control the elements, the seasons, the shifting of land, sky and seas. Powerful enough to manipulate time and space itself. And so, obviously, the best place for these incredibly powerful God-like creatures was in the hands of a few antsy, tired young adults.

Yuchan and Oki stared at the large boxy building with trepidation. “Rock-paper-scissors for who rings the doorbell?” Yuchan offered. Oki gave him a look. “Fine, but you have to tell Hyuna if I die.”

 _‘I wonder what they’ll say at my funeral,’_ Yuchan thought as he started down the path to the front door, Oki trailing a healthy distance behind him, _‘Poor Yuchan. Gone too soon. An alright Champion, a pretty nice kid, and the only one capable of eating the entire Battle Buffet. Not a bad legacy’._

Yuchan was surprised when he didn’t even make it to the door, some unknown person grabbing him and dragging him through one of the bushes near the entrance. The Champion had never thought there might a shrub Pokémon attempting to kill him, but there was a first time for everything.

“Goodbye cruel world,” Yuchan muttered.

“Shhh!” a voice said, a hand covered Yuchan’s mouth.

“Mmmf.”

“SHHH!” Yuchan decided to stay still as his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside the shrub. He kept quiet as he heard the front door to the Battle Frontier open.

“I swear, I saw someone walking out here!” a voice said. “I know it was that delivery guy!”

“Donghyuck,” another person said, “This rivalry with Minki will get you nowhere.”

“He called me a brat!”

“He was right, though.” 

There was an offended gasp. “Me and Pyukumuku don’t have to take this.”

“You better keep your damn sea cucumber away from me, I swear to Arceus-“ The voices retreated and the front door slammed shut. The person covering Yuchan’s mouth finally relaxed. Yuchan’s eyes fully adjusted, and he could finally make out that the other was wearing a Nu Deliveries uniform. Shockingly enough, there was a whole other person that Yuchan hadn’t seen initially also wearing a Nu Deliveries uniform and holding Oki. Yuchan addressed the person covering his mouth first.

“Minki, I presume?” he said, trying to give the other an unimpressed look. He probably wasn’t effective as he was sitting in the dirt behind a shrub, but it was worth a shot.

“In the flesh,” the man said, with jazz hands thrown in. “And this is my co-worker, Minhyun.” The other released Oki before Yuchan could mention it.

“I’m just going along with him,” Minhyun said, sounding uninterested in the proceedings.

“You guys have… some kind of rivalry with the Battle Frontier?” Yuchan speculated.

“I don’t,” Minhyun said. He pointed to Minki. “He does.”

“Listen, if you’d ever met Lee Donghyuck, you’d have one too.”

“Dare I ask what he did?”

“Well,” Minki began dramatically, clearly ready to detail some long and winding story, but Minhyun beat him to the punch.

“Minki had to deliver a package to the Battle Frontier. The kid was launching his Pyukumuku at one of his friends, but missed and hit Minki in the face. Minki called the kid a brat. It’s only escalated from there.”

“I was going to tell him!” Minki whined.

“Anyway, we have trouble delivering packages here now,” Minhyun continued. He then looked at Yuchan speculatively. “You were headed there anyway, right? Would you mind dropping off a package in there?”

Yuchan shrugged. “Sure. I’m on my own delivery anyway.”

“Great,” Minhyun said, handing over a medium sized box. He then pulled an electronic tablet and pen of a holder on his belt. “Sign here.”

“Don’t they have to do that?” Yuchan asked, taking the pen anyway.

“Someone just has to do it. Doesn’t matter who,” Minhyun said. “There’s twenty one of them. I doubt Jonghyun will notice that you’re not one of the listed residents.”

“Fair enough,” Yuchan said, signing with a flourish at the end.

“Great,” Minhyun nodded, looking over the signature and putting the tablet and pen back. “Thank you. We’ll be heading out now.” Minki grumbled a little, but the three of them managed to struggle out of the hedge, the two delivery men departing for their Wartortle themed truck at the end of the pathway. Yuchan hefted the box and headed back toward the entrance. He rang the doorbell with his shoulder.

“A-ha!” Someone yelled yanking open the door. The boy’s expression fell when he registered Yuchan’s appearance. The boy was younger than Yuchan, and there was a Pyukumuku sitting on top of his head, its odd mouth hand thing forming a fist, which it quickly dropped. “You’re not Minki.”  
“Pyu,” the Pyukumuku said.

“No,” Yuchan said, but my arms are tired and I have a delivery.”

“Rai!” Oki chimed in at his side.

“Come in,” the boy, Donghyuck most likely, mumbled as he stepped back from the entrance. 

Yuchan walked in. “The package is for,” he glanced at the label, “Mark Lee?”

“That’s me!” someone yelled. Yuchan heard a rushing of feet down stairs, and soon another boy was standing in the entrance area. “I’m Mark Lee!”

“Yes, he probably gathered that,” Donghyuck said, rolling his eyes.

“Do I have to sign?” Mark said, determinedly ignoring the comment.

“Uh,” Yuchan said, thinking about how he’d signed for the package, “Not this time.”

“Sweet!” Mark grabbed the box. “Thanks!” He disappeared as quick as he came.

“Wow,” Yuchan said, “I wonder what was in that.”

“Probably something to help him steal baby dragons from that new Gym,” Donghyuck said.

“What?” Yuchan asked, eyebrows raised.

“What?” Donghyuck parroted. They stared at each other, Donghyuck’s gaze challenging.

“You know what? It’s been a long day, and I don’t care,” Yuchan said, shaking his head. “Is Taeyong in? I have a letter for him.”

“He’s back in his office,” Donghyuck said. The Pyukumuku formed a hand and pointed down a hallway. “Third door on the right.”

Yuchan stared at the sea cucumber for a second too long. “Thanks.” He and Oki headed down the hallway the Pokémon had indicated. The door was shut, and Yuchan couldn’t hear anything from the outside. He knocked hesitantly. “Taeyong?”

“Come in,” a tired voice said. Yuchan opened the door and walked in. The room’s occupant didn’t even look up when he entered. Taeyong was seated behind his desk and frantically shuffling through a few papers. The only things in his office was his desk, his computer, a bookshelf packed with reference materials, and an empty chair on the other side of the desk.

“Please tell me Chenle didn’t give Mark another unexplainable fear.”

“What?” Yuchan asked. Taeyong finally looked up.

“Oh! Yuchan! That’s a surprise,” he glanced to the Raichu, “And Oki! Please, have a seat. Sorry, I only have one chair.”

“Hey Taeyong,” Chan replied, sitting down. “It’s alright.”

“Raichu,” Oki agreed, switching to sitting on her tail as she hovered above the ground.

“What’s that about Chenle traumatizing Mark though?”

“Oh,” Taeyong blew out a breath, “Well Chenle somehow befriended a Celebi, don’t ask me how, and they disappeared after lunch one day. We found out later that they were jumping through the time stream to harass Mark. They threw french fries at his head at every single important moment in his life. First day of pre-school, middle school dances, moving to the region, high school graduation… You get the picture. Now the poor kid has an irrational fear of being hit with french fries whenever he’s happy.”

Yuchan blinked. “There’s a lot to unpack there.”

“You’re telling me,” Taeyong said, running a hand through his hair. “So why are you stopping by the Battle Frontier today? Did Donghyuck accidentally make any new islands? Are there dimensional rifts? Anomalies in the time space continuum?” Taeyong froze. “Please tell me Mark didn’t steal more baby dragons. I swear I made him give them back!”

“No, it’s none of those things,” Yuchan said quickly. “I just have a letter from Professor Hyuna.” Oki pulled the letter out of Yuchan’s backpack and handed it to him. “Thank you.” He passed the envelope to Taeyong.

“Oh?” Taeyong picked up a letter opener and sliced it open. “Ah, the Galar region. Right,” he said, looking through the letter. “I’ll have to call Hyuna about that, I was wondering a few of these things myself.”

Yuchan leaned back in the chair. “I’m not really ready for all the new challengers.”

“You’ll do great,” Taeyong said. “Look at us,” he gestured expansively, “We’re doing great, and I’m flying by the seat of my pants half the time!”

“I’m not sure if that inspires confidence.”

“It at least doesn’t inspire dread.”

“You got me there.”

“But honestly,” Taeyong said, resting his elbows on the desk, “I have faith in you. And so do all the Gym Leaders. So does Professor Hyuna. You wouldn’t be the Champion if you didn’t deserve it and work hard for it, so just… try to enjoy whatever comes next.”

Yuchan grinned. “That was very deep of you, Taeyong.”

“It comes with being a father of twenty,” Taeyong said dryly. He stood up and stretched. “I’ll see you out. I need to walk around a little anyway, I swear I’ve been trapped behind my desk all day.” He and Yuchan left the office, Taeyong locking the door behind him. 

“How’s the Battle Frontier running?” Yuchan asked.

“As well as can be expected,” Taeyong said, “We have three new recruits.”

“What are their Legendaries?”

“Regirock, Regice and Registeel,” Taeyong groaned, “They make these weird dialup noises and haunt my dreams. I ran into one when I was getting a glass of water in the middle of the night and almost screamed and woke up the entire Frontier.”

Yuchan shuddered, “I can’t even imagine.”

“It was at least better than the time I accidentally stepped on Pyukumuku on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.”

“You did WHAT?”

“Yeah, it was terrible,” Taeyong confirmed. “I screamed, Pyukumuku slapped me with its mouth hand, Donghyuck woke up and yelled at me, we had to make a trip to a Pokémon Center, only for them to say it was all fine… Truly the worst experience of my life. I’m afraid to go in the ocean barefoot now.”

“I can’t believe that in a building full of Legendaries, you’re most terrified of a sea cucumber.”

“If you’re smart, you’ll be scared too.” They reached the front of the building and Taeyong held open the door for Yuchan and Oki. “Come back and visit sometime. I think the kids all want to battle you.”

“With or without their Legendaries?” Yuchan asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Taeyong deadpanned. Yuchan laughed.

“I’ll be back, I promise.”

* * *

**Location 11: Pokémon League**

Yuchan was exhausted by the time Mandibuzz touched down at the Pokémon League. Even the Flying Pokémon seemed to be feeling the strain at this point, as she returned to her Pokéball immediately. He would have to tell Sungjin to give her some extra treats that night, she’d certainly earned them. 

The League, like many other Leagues Yuchan had seen pictures of in the past, was on top of a mountain at the end of a long cave. He wasn’t sure why this was the trend that so many architects decided on, but who was he to question their artistic visions? It definitely made the building look more dramatic from a distance, and he’d seen many starry eyed trainers craning their necks back from the bottom to try and take in the whole thing.

The large glass doors at the front entrance slid open on his approach. Usually there would be guards outside the League to make sure no one tried to sneak in before collecting all of their badges, but it was too late for any challengers, and they had all probably gone home to eat dinner and get ready for bed. Yuchan could relate.

He found Sungjin in the back of the building where his and the Elite Four’s bedrooms were stationed. Sungjin was sitting on a couch in their large common room that their bedrooms branched off from, reading through a stack of papers. If Yuchan had to take a guess, they were probably police reports about whatever antics his friends had gotten up to recently. Despite being an Elite Four member, Sungjin had very little control over his group of friends, and often spent his League paychecks bailing them out of a holding cell.

“Sungjin!” Yuchan said, walking up to the other. He plopped down on the couch next to the man and pulled Mandibuzz’s Pokéball off his belt. “Here you go! She did great today, thank you for letting me borrow her.”

“No problem,” Sungjin said with a tired smile, taking the Pokéball and setting it with his others on the low coffee table in front of them. “She worked hard. I’ll give her the day off tomorrow to rest.”

Yuchan nodded. “Have you seen any of the others?”

“Seungcheol had to run to the Thrifty Megamart and then went to visit his friends on the bridge. He got back earlier and went straight to bed. Jihyo volunteered at SHINee Futures today, and I think she’s spending the night there. Irene’s in her room, though she might be out later,” Sungjin said.

“Oh, alright,” Yuchan said. He stood up from the couch and stretched, feeling his shoulders pop. “I’m gonna grab a snack and go to bed then. Good luck with whatever’s happening there.” He gestured to the spread out papers.

Sungjin groaned. “Thanks.”

Yuchan took his leave with Oki sleepily trailing behind him, the exhaustion finally hitting her hard. She wavered in the air, like she might forget to keep floating any minute. Yuchan grabbed a water bottle, a bag of chips, and a fruit cup for himself while he grabbed a cup of Electric type food for Oki from the kitchen before retreating to his room. It wasn’t the healthiest meal, but he was tired and he promised himself he’d eat better the next day to make up for it.

He scarfed down his food almost without tasting it. Oki nearly fell asleep face first into her bowl next to him. When they finished, Yuchan dealt with all of their trash before collapsing face first onto his mattress, barely remembering to kick his shoes off beforehand. He heard a soft ‘fwump’ next to him that he assumed was Oki mimicking his current position.

“Mmmmf,” he grunted into the covers. He rolled onto his back and pulled his phone out of his pocket to hook into the charger on his night stand. As soon as he set it up, he found he had a few new messages. He tapped on the first one.

_**Ocean Jun:** I don’t know what your schedule looks like, but all the others are free this Friday if you can manage to get away for dinner._

Yuchan opened his calendar, found the day was free, and replied that he’d be able to make it.

_**Spicy Gym:** Hey, sorry all my trainers almost killed us today. Don’t worry, I’ve totally fireproofed everything since then. I think._

Yuchan seriously doubted that.

 __ **Dragon Chew Toy:** Uh, I know you said I could text you about anything so  
  
**Dragon Chew Toy:** Would you happen to know anything about a Rayquaza and Altaria swooping over our Gym? It keeps coming way too close for comfort and scaring the babies… Is this normal?

The Champion sent off a text to Taeyong saying that Mark was scoping out the Dragon Type Gym and to watch if the younger stole any baby dragons. He got a text back almost immediately.

_**Twenty Kids and Counting:** oh god_

_**Twenty Kids and Counting:** that boy is gonna make my hair go gray and it won’t be because of dye this time_

There was a pause and then Yuchan’s phone dinged again.

_**Long Ass Ride:** snitch_

Yuchan laughed and turned his phone off, setting it back down on his night stand. After staring at the ceiling for a second he got up once again to change into his pajamas and get back under the covers. Oki was already fast asleep on her pillow, and Yuchan grinned at her soft snoring sounds. 

“Good night,” he whispered, flipping the lights off. As he snuggled under the covers, he thought about the long journey he had around the region that day. All of the towns and Gyms were packed with a number of colorful characters and businesses. Even if Galar opening its borders resulted in more tourists and trainers arriving, Yuchan was sure the region wouldn’t lose its unique style.

**Author's Note:**

> There was too much in the AU to fit into just one fic. Hopefully I'll be able to write more for this universe in the future


End file.
